Pranks
by Clistare
Summary: After playing a practical-joke war with Misty, Ash finds himself trapped in a century-old mansion, with deep, hidden secrets. With only Pikachu, Misty and a baby Azurill by his side, can he and Misty uncover the mysteries of the Graysons mansion?
1. Chapter 1: Pranks

**Clistare's Notes:** This is my attempt at Horror/Mystery. I re-wrote some things here, all the while keeping the original idea. Since this is one my projects that had been left hanging for a pretty **long **time, I decided to delay the next editing chapter of _ITLFTN_. I sincerely thank everyone for their constant reviews, despite some criticism I've received, and would like to dedicate this chapter to everyone , and if you would notice, I used the quote below from a chapter of the Alphabet Challenge, 'Pranksters'.

**Chapter Rating:** T.

**Shipping:** Pokeshipping. (Ash/Misty)

_"Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness."  
_- Sacha Guitry.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters that will be mentioned below. Nor do I own the quote you may read above.

* * *

The sheer horror on her face said nothing more than what expected. Snickering, he cowered back down the table while her face was in the verge of tears. Though he felt extremely guilty and sorry about scaring his best friend to death, he remembered how _she _was the one who started this 'practical joke war'. It wasn't like he wanted to bring her to this so-called 'Haunted Manor'. Of course they were teenagers, and what was expected from a bunch of hormonal-crazed 15-year-olds? Childish behavior, most probably.

"A-Ash," her voice was obviously broken with fear. "N-no more games. I promise I won't put cooking oil in your soup anymore. I swear." Misty's eyes watered, her body trembling in fear.

Just as Ash was about to leave her in the room, he stopped dead in his tracks. No way had she, Misty Waterflower just said _that_. There was **no** way she would apologize – and to him of all people! This just turned a new light to him as he carefully shut the door.

Standing up and wiping the dirt off his Sinnoh jacket with his gloved hand, he walked to her with a smirk on his face.

Misty spotted his figure, and jumped, but calmed down as she recognized him. "I'm sorry." She said with a quivering voice, her cheeks filled with streaming tears.

His victory smirk fell into a frown as he looked at her vulnerable figure. He hadn't planned it to get this far, leading her to cry and look like she was going to faint.

Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her small figure and squeezed her.

"No," he whispered into her red orange hair. "I'm sorry."

She stopped trembling and pushed herself away from his embrace, much to his dismay, and looked in his eyes.

Taking a step back, she wiped her tears and smirked, whipping out something from behind. Ash hadn't expected this, he hadn't even known she was good in acting!

"This," she waved her Mallet of Doom in the air. "Is for scaring me to death."

"Ithoughtyouwerereallyscared!" he mumbled so fast, but clear enough for Misty to understand.

Placing one smooth, delicate finger on her chin she replied, "Well sure I was scared to death, but you wouldn't think I would actually cry, did you?"

But before he could even utter a reply, she had already whacked him with the end of her mallet.

**;;;;;;**

"You are an _idiot_. Did you know that?"

"Well, I'm sorry Ms.-I'm-too-perfect-for-my-best friend, but we wouldn't have been here if you hadn't played that stupid joke on me."

Misty scoffed.

"We wouldn't have been here if you hadn't thought of such a lame revenge plan. Seriously, Ash, even if you read _'Paybacks for Dummies'_ you wouldn't have understood anything! Even with pictures!"

It seemed that Ash's navigating skills had not improved, despite his constant travels in different regions. He tried to reassure the redhead that he knew where they were going, and she had reluctantly and doubtfully agreed. Half an hour later, they were in the same spot as they were before. The only things they had with them were their Pokemon - Pikachu and Azurill - along with Misty's trusty backpack.

"Pikaa...chu!" Pikachu whined, his legs struggling to stand.

"Azurill." the little blue mouse Pokemon agreed, her eyes drooping down.

Misty and Ash simultaneously picked their partners up, placing them on their shoulders. Azurill on Misty's right shoulder and Pikachu on Ash's left.

"Hey…Ash…"

"Mmm?" he seemed to be deep in thought, since he was staring straight in her eyes.

Blushing, she turned her head straight forward and cleared her throat, "D'you really think this place is…_haunted_?"

He took a brief pause before answering,

"Hmm…I never really thought about that before... but I can remember when I was a little boy – my mom told me about this place to get me away from the cookies on the cupboard."

Intrigued, Misty decided to enter one of the bedrooms and sat on the plastic-covered bed. "Tell me!" Her eyes were shining with mystery and adventure. Ash was confused, but nevertheless he followed her lead and began,

"Well, it all started centuries ago. Even though Pallet is a pretty small place, there are always rumors going about."

"Like about your mom and Prof. Oak dating?" Misty interrupted. Ash made a bewildered face, causing her to laugh out loud.

"Shut up. That's **not **true. What about Daisy dating Bro—"

"Oh hush up!" she glared, crossing her arms. Sighing, he continued with a brief roll of his eyes.

"There used to be this family – the Graysons – that lived here – they were _loaded _with money and all of the 10 children were gifted with incredible training skills and not to mention, looks. On October 5th, the youngest child, Marina, had drowned in their pool. Unfortunately, she was the favorite of her parents and they just wouldn't stand the fact that they lost their daughter. So they pushed their servants into undoubtedly impossible chores to show their grief."

"Wait, wait, wait. That's how they grieve? Push others to do stupid work?" Misty cut him mid-sentence, enraptured by the story. Ash slapped a hand to his forehead, and nodding his head,

"Yeah. And, if I may continue," he shot Misty a look in which she replied with a grin. "The servants tried to protest, to stop the Grayson's abuse towards them. But it seemed like they were as stubborn as you are." Ash paused, smirking at the glaring look she was giving him.

"Go...on." she gritted through her teeth, dangerously clenching her fists.

"And the just wouldn't let the servants get away. They were enraged, and Mr. Grayson started breaking glasses and the furniture, telling them to clean it up. So, anyone would've been angry, that's for sure. And guess what the servants did?"

"What? What? Tell me!" Misty pleaded, obviously unable to contain herself from excitement. She had always been thrilled with horror, and although it freaked her out of her mind, she was always uncontainable when it came to it.

"They murdered the Graysons. All the servants killed each and everyone of them - even the poor, innocent children."

Misty's face fell, but she was obviously still interested in the story, "Aw. Poor kids. All their parents fault!"

Ash shook his head, raising a finger up to prove his point.

"No. Remember the incident that happened with Marina?" he asked, opening an eyelid. She nodded in response, patting both sides of the dusty bed.

"People said that her twin, Arina, purposely pushed her into the water. Out of jealousy, of course."

"Jealousy?" Misty asked, placing a finger on her chin and looking up at the ceiling. "Oh! I get it! It's like me and my sisters with my mom. Mom used to favor me all the time since I didn't have any triplets to go with - that's why they always treated me like dirty trash after my parents di- what was that?" A shrill, but creepy sound stopped Misty from her sentence. Ash shot up, ordering his Pikachu - which was previously playing with Azurill - to come by his side. Nodding, Pikachu and Azurill took their places on each of their master's shoulders.

The cricketing sound arose the room once more, sending shivers down Misty's spine. "Ash, you better not be playing games anymore. I apologized already!"

"I'm not playing games, Myst. I -" the sound filled the eerie room again, and a cold breeze gushed by them. The room's beautifully engraved chandelier started to flicker on and off, moving side to side with each flicker.

Suddenly, a cold-like feeling wiped on Misty's ivory skin. She shivered, turning around to find that there was a floating book. Misty screamed, jumping up and cowering behind Ash's back. This was most certainly liked by our trainer.

"What's wrong?" he asked in complete worry. Misty pointed to the direction the book was previously floating in, but found out that it was not there any longer.

"B-But I could'v-ve sworn t-there w-was a b-b-book! It was f-floating, I s-swear!" she shook in fear, her teeth chattering. Misty's aquamarine eyes flicked back and forth to the same directions.

"Let's get outta here." Ash said, pulling Misty by the wrist and running out of the room, across the long, endless hallway and the never-ending grand stairs. As soon as they reached the ground floor, the humongous doors were already opened, showering some light upon them.

"Finally!" Misty breathed a sigh, so did Azurill and Pikachu. But when they were a foot away from the door, it instantly shut. Ash tried pulling the handle open, even kicking it and sending Pikachu to thundershock it. Nothing was working.

"Damn!" he punched the door. Even he was slightly terrified.

"What are we going to do, Ash? T-This place is clearly h-haunted and we're," Misty took one, long gulp before saying. "Trapped."

Ash certainly did not like that fact either, so he tried smashing the window with his fist. As if things couldn't get any weirder, the glass never seemed to shatter at all.

Azurill shook in fear, covering her eyes with her tail. Pikachu decided that he needed to comfort the little blue ball and wrapped his arms protectively around Azurill.

While Ash was busy fiddling with his Pokegear, trying to make it work, Misty took a few steps back before cracking a broken piece of wood, causing her to fall down.

She screamed loud, taking in Ash, Pikachu and Azurill's attention. Kneeling down and pressing his face inside the dark hole Misty had previously fallen in, Ash called,

"Misty! Misty! Misty, can you hear me? Mis -" but the century-old wood broke from where he was kneeling, causing all three of them to fall down.

"AHH!"

"PIKAAA!"

"RIILL!"

While falling on his butt, Ash made an 'oof' sound, while Pikachu and Azurill safely bounced on his Sinnoh League hat, unpainfully falling on the ground, tumbling until the wall stopped them both.

Ash opened his eyes to see a smirking Misty, with her hands on her hips. "And I truly thought you were going to save me," she said, extending an arm and pulling him to his feet. "But I guess we're even more trapped than we were before, huh?"

Ash didn't reply, instead he stood up and balanced himself from his wobbling feet, taking note of his surroundings. It was obviously a little girl's room, but there was such little things inside. There was a small, dull-blue bed on the corner and countable toys scattered amongst the room. Some where tacky, some were broken, but the one that stood out in the room was a small, ragged-like doll. She had cropped, nut-brown hair and sparkling orange eyes. Her skin was obviously fragile and smooth, but her right hand only had three fingers.

The room was smaller than Ash's bathroom. The walls were smeared with an ugly shade of blue, and the floor was carpeted with a lifeless gray. Surely this was one of the servant's room, right?

"Hey, Ash." Misty called him, sitting on the small bed that looked like it was bought out of the junk yard. He walked towards her, seeing that she was observing the back of the doll.

"Whose room do you think this is?" she asked.

"Probably one of the servants." Ash replied nonchalantly. Somehow, there weren't any doors or windows in the room.

"You're nowhere near close. It belongs to Arina Grayson."

* * *

**Clistare's Notes:** When I was reading this again, to check for any grammatical errors, I noticed how fast things have been moving. Although the pacing isn't quite what I had in mind, I'm pretty fine with how this worked out. I didn't edit that much, seeing as I was content with the hardwork I put into this before. Anyways, the same rules apply: Reviews will be greatly appreciated, flames will be happily extinguished.

_-Marie-_


	2. Chapter 2: Mysteries

**Clistare's Notes: **_-None-_

**Chapter Rating: T.**

**Shipping**: Pokeshipping. (Ash/Misty)

_"Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?"_  
-Charles de Lint.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters that will be mentioned below. Nor do I own the quote you may read above.

* * *

It wasn't until he shook out of his daze that things cleared up in his mind. This girl had been much under child abuse, and was kept on the basement. What Ash didn't understand is _why _these people would do this to a girl. Had she done something wrong? Was she just a burden to her family?

"I really feel sorry for Arina," Misty sighed, turning the doll around and taking a closer observation. Her mind instantly clicked as she noticed the raggedy hands of the porcelain figure.

"Ash," she asked for his attention, as he turned around from his previous daze. "This doll…look at its fingers, two of them are missing…what could it mean? Do you think it's connected to Marina's murder? Or do you think it's connected to anything at all?"

Ash, for a moment, thought about what he and Misty are getting themselves into. What he didn't mention to the redhead was that dozens of people entered this place, in search of gold and riches which were left by the Graysons. More than half of them were _never _seen again.

"Ash, Ash! Hello, earth to Ash, can you hear me in your spacious brain?" Misty waved her free hand in front of his face, while clutching the doll to her heart.

Breaking free of his imagination, Ash cleared his throat. "Sorry, Myst. What were you saying?"

Misty looked exasperated at him.

"God, Ash! I told you to take a closer look at the doll's fingers. Look," She shoved the figure in his chest, as he took time into examining it. The smallish, roundish hand had three fingers – each in different sizes. Her other hand's fingers, however, was all crooked - but they were complete. As he took a closer examination at her dress, he concluded that the rips and holes around the doll were obviously not from **any **accident.

Misty looked down, somewhat ashamed from entering this girls room without permission – like she could ever ask for any. But somehow, deep inside her heart, she felt a tug – not the kind of tug she gets when Ash gets all sweet with her – but a different kind of tug. This one felt like it was telling her something, but she just couldn't reach it.

"I wonder…" Ash mumbled, placing a finger on his chin and twirling the doll around like a pokeball. Misty flamed at him.

"A-S-H! What the hell are you doing! This belonged to a precious young girl who was abused, don't go breaking her toys like…" something shiny fell into the carpeted floor of the room, taking in both their attention. "…that."

Smirking at the furious redhead, Ash bent over, placing the doll in Misty's hand, and picked it up.

It was a simple, yet elegant locket that was shaped like a diamond. Inside was a very old picture of a man and a woman with two little girls. The woman was completely dashing. She had brown shoulder-length hair, shaped into big curls with a blue headband atop. Her gorgeous blue eyes sparkled with diamonds and her bright smile seemed to brighten the picture up.

The man was not as breathtaking as the woman, but yet he was very much elegant. A fine nose, his cheekbones sharp and his hair disheveled. What was very much eye-catching about the hair was not to be noted, as the black locks were fixed in an orderly manner. His black eyes bore through the picture and his mustache covered his mouth. But anyone could tell that he was smiling.

The little girl, however, was unlike the two. She had eye-catching cerulean-colored hair and bright pink eyes. She was wearing a little blue dress, complete with different frills around. The little girl seemed to be sitting atop her parents' laps.

But what was so unusual about the picture, was that there was an identical girl, standing crossed-arms on the floor. She had neat, cropped nut brown hair, and bright, energetic orange eyes. Her dress was not comparable to the other little girl's, as it was very simple. Just a long-sleeved, plain blue dress that didn't even have sequins in it - an obvious contrast to the other outfit. Although she was out-of-place, she smiled as brightly as the sun.

"Hey Myst, take a look at this." Ash handed her the locket, opening it wide enough for her to see. Her blue eyes widened, as a confused face plastered on her own.

"Are these the Graysons?" she asked, looking up at Ash. He shrugged, taking the locket and shoving it into his pocket. Then, that's when things started to happen once more.

The bed rattled, moving around like it was being trampled on. The toys moved, releasing themselves from Azurill and Pikachu's grasps. The ground shook a little, causing Misty to almost tumble backwards.

"W-What's happening?" she toppled on both ways, almost failing to keep her balance. Ash was holding onto Pikachu - so did Misty, who held her Azurill for dear life - and used his other hand to hold onto something.

"Misty! Grab onto something, now!" he ordered in a worried tone. Nodding, Misty held the edge of a very small bookcase, hoping it wouldn't fall down on her. The ground's shaking subsided, and the bed stopped rattling. Sighing with relief, Ash and Misty took a look around them. All the toys had been scattered messily around the room, and the bed's covering had fallen off. It seemed like somebody was looking for something.

Misty, who hadn't released her grip from the bookcase, regretted it instantly as it automatically turned around. "What the…?"

Ash released his grip from the clothing handle, jumping over to Misty's side as the bookcase revolved around. As it stopped its rotation, Ash and Misty came face-to-face with a dusty, old ballroom, filled with much valuable antiques.

Azurill and Pikachu jumped down from their masters shoulder and instantly scented something. Azurill kept her ears wide open, trying to hear sounds as distant as the next town. Pikachu sniffed, smelling the ground while his ears perked up every now and then.

Suddenly, a sweet, luscious scent filled the whole room - evaporating all foul smells that were recently there. It smelled like flowers - lilies to be exact. Pikachu bounded off, Azurill hot on his heels as beads of sweat formed on the sides of her head. "Azu Azurill!"

"Pikachu, wait up!" Ash called, running towards Pikachu, accompanied by Misty.

**;;;;;;**

"Wow." was the only thing Misty Waterflower could say. Such an extravagant scene folded in front of her. Somehow, she could see hundreds of people, dancing and smiling while the children laughed and ran around. After finding Pikachu at the end of the ballroom, standing in front of the door, something vibrated in Ash's pocket and the locket glowed.

Instantly, after cowering back up from their backed-down positions, both Ash and Misty, along with their Pokemon, had seen the beautiful scenery. Many people, different races, all gathered up with their Pokemon to a dance - which was periodically observed by Misty.

"Another piece?" Ash wondered, picking the locket out and opened it. He was surprised to find the little girl, who was out-of-place, gone. Her part of the picture was slightly burnt. As he pointed it to Misty, she seemed utterly shocked.

"W-what happened? This wasn't like this earlier...was it?" she turned her eyes to look at Ash, who shook his head in astonishment.

"I don't think so."

The dancers unexpectedly disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke, causing both Ash and Misty to cover their eyes with their arm. As soon as the cloud disappeared, something, but Ash couldn't put _what_, was missing.

"Ash! The locket!" Misty cried, pointing to his empty hand. Then he realized that his hand felt lighter than it was before.

"Hmm..." he turned to Pikachu and Azurill, who shrugged their shoulders and shook their head in unison.

"I'm really confused now, Myst. Do you think we should find a way out? I think we've got ourselves tangled in a deep mess."

"No!" she said, almost instantly. She had yearned for another adventure with her best-friend and secret desire, and she had the opportunity in her hands. Shaking her head vigorously, she bore her eyes into his chocolate brown ones. "I meant that since we're already in this place, I suggest we just move along. I want to know what really happened to the Graysons and I have a good feeling something or someone out there is trying to tell us. But somehow, we can't see them."

Nodding in understanding, saying that Ash is grateful is a big understatement. He wanted adventure and he wanted it with Misty and Misty alone. No Brock, no May or Max and especially no perky, cheerleading Dawn.

"Well then let's move on!" he ventured closer, before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the ballroom doors. It towered over them, almost three times their heights combined.

Ash first tried pushing the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. Pikachu then tried next, using one very powerful tackle attack, in which he fainted for a few seconds afterwards. Azurill gave it her strongest water gun until she couldn't take it anymore.

Misty was the only one left now, and Ash had certain doubts on her.

"Are you sure, Myst? You might break a nail or two." he mocked, chuckling as she cuffed her blue, long-sleeved shirt until her elbows.

"What, you don't think I could manage it?" she eyed him, narrowing one eye and huffing. Ash laughed, almost nervously, cowering down and trying to sympathize with a hotheaded tomboy. That was harder than waking up a Snorlax who had just finished eating.

"Well, you're pretty _scrawny _for your age so I gue-" **WHACK!**

"Don't you **dare **call me scrawny again, got that? Now, learn from the master."

Carefully, Misty placed her delicate hand over the knob and turned it slightly. Much to everyone's utter surprise, it opened widely. After recovering from his much painful faint, Ash gaped in shock. What hadn't he thought of that?

As if she read his mind, she simply answered, "It's because you're an idiot, Ash. And idiots like you don't think before they talk. Right?" The dangerous look she was giving him indicated that if he didn't follow her suit, she would kill him.

"Err...Yeah, Myst. Right."

**;;;;;;**

The door opened, revealing an antique dining room. In every corner, it was full of cobwebs and dust. On the long, probable 10 foot dining table, there was food - obviously rotten and untouched. Misty ran her hands along a painting of a handsome guy, about the same age as her, on the wall. He had raven-black hair, diamond-like blue eyes and a cute, boyish grin. She giggled. He reminded her somewhat of Ash.

Speaking of Ash, he was currently scowling, looking at Misty who was giggling and staring at the humongous painting hung on the wall. He leaned over one chair, crossing his arms, annoyed.

"Tssh. What's so great about a guy who doesn't exist anymore anyways?"

"Ash! Don't be so rude." Misty snapped, turning around and narrowing her eyes at him. Ash sweatdropped in response and inwardly decided that it would be best if he kept his big mouth shut. A moment of silence washed over the two, as they took time into examining the dining area. It was certainly spacious, more so that of the little girl's room.

"Hey Ash, c'mere." Misty waved her arm, signaling Ash to walk over. As soon as he did so, she pointed to a picture frame - a very old picture with a family painted in it. "How many children did the Graysons have?"

Ash pondered about it and looked up, trying to recall what his mother's story had contained. Three...four...five... he counted, as Misty waited impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Ten!"

"But look. There are only _nine _children here."

And he did notice that firsthand. It wasn't like he was good at math, or he counted fast, it was that he already knew one was missing.

"Arina..." he whispered, shaking his head. Misty confirmed his suspicions by nodding his head. "Let's take the picture with us. I think they'll help with the puzzle. So far, what clues do we have?" she asked, her tone lowering down to a level where she sounded like a real detective.

"Well, so far, we have that picture and the doll. The locket had somehow disappeared." Ash said, looking in Misty's knapsack.

Before Misty could utter a single word, the dining room door was shut, and somehow, the walls started to close in on them...

* * *

**Clistare's Notes: **Okay, truthfully, I don't know why I ended this chapter with a cliffy. I personally don't like them. Well anyways, I BARELY did any editing here. I didn't want to do any major changes. I would like it if you reviewed, I would dislike it if you flamed.

_-Marie-_


	3. Chapter 3: Trouble

**Clistare's Notes:** _-None-_

**Chapter Rating: **T.

**Shipping:** Pokeshipping (Ash/Misty)

_"If there was less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world."  
-_Oscar Wilde.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters that will be mentioned below. Nor do I own the quote you may read above.

_

* * *

_

_And the walls started closing in on them..._

"No!" was the only word ringing in Ash's ears. He was paralyzed; struck by the sudden movement of the walls and floor. Misty was by his side, clutching his hand to hers and closing her eyes tight. Pikachu and Azurill desperately tried to delay the closure, while they decided Ash was the one to strategize. Azurill water gunned with all her power, losing almost half her energy. Pikachu shot thunder other side, chanting:

"Pikapi! Pipikachu pika chu pipika!" indicating his master to shake out of his daze. And he did, with much panic and frustration.

"This is bad…" he whispered, turning to Misty who was shaking her body in fear.

"I know, Ash. But we _can't_ give up just yet…we have to find a way to get out of here." She released her tight grip and jogged around the room, looking for an exit big enough for both of them to fit.

Ash was contemplating on his mind on what to do. Misty was begging him to find something to crawl over and Pikachu tried to shake him out of his thoughts.

Soon, the Pokemon were out of energy and both Pikachu and Azurill fell dazed on the floor.

"Azurill!" Misty squealed, picking up her Pokemon and cradling it in her arms. Ash ran towards Pikachu as well, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"We have to look for something, quick! The walls are starting to close again!"

Nodding, Misty's eyes wandered from corner to corner and wall to wall until she looked up and saw…

"Ash! Look over there!" she indicated the ceiling. There was a hole, large enough for an average-sized human to fit in. Nodding at her bright idea, he searched around and found a tall chair. Running over to the mahogany furniture, he picked it up and placed it over the dining table.

He needed to act fast. The walls were halfway through with crushing the entire room - with them in it.

"Hurry!" Misty ordered, gripping the wobbling chair. As Ash climbed over, he used his arms and pushed himself up with so much power, his arms felt like melting. Misty passed over the unconscious pikachu and her azurill, kissing both on the forehead before leading them up.

They needed to move faster. The walls had caught up on them; the only thing keeping Misty from being crushed is the struggling chair and dining table - which will obviously, in a matter of seconds, break.

Jumping up on the chair, Misty prayed to Mew that she'd be safe.

"Myst, give me your arms, fast!"

"Okay!"

She stretched her arms high, higher and then higher. He was just unable to reach her slender arms. The chair's leg cracked, toppling Misty on the ground.

"C'mon, Misty!" urged Ash.

It was hard. The predicament at hand was inevitable - she just wouldn't be able to make it. Ash wasn't at arm's reach, the walls were slowly caving her in and her fear was eating her up whole.

"I can't," she sighed, averting her blue eyes to him. "It's useless, Ash. Just go on, now!" she winced as a piece of wood from the being-crushed dining table halfway entered her ivory skin. Droplets of blood dripped down her arm, while she tried her hardest to keep her tears in. In a matter of time, she'd die a most certain painful death. In a matter of minutes, she'd be taken from this world. In a matter of seconds...

"Grab onto this, Myst!" a long rope fell a few inches in front of her teary face. She noticed this rope. A few months ago, Ash's cancer-diseased aunt visited them while she was vacationing in Pallet. It was a customized, slim yet tight rope. Engraved on it were pictures of Ash's favorite Pokemon and him, of course. It was one of the most prized possessions Ash had. And he never let her touch it - even when he brought it everywhere.

"Hurry, Myst!" his voice was ringing with fear and worry.

Misty could now see that the walls were a few inches away from her body. On the floor were tattered pieces of expensive and old wood, coming from the dining table and chairs. She reached out her other arm - the one which wasn't bleeding pools of blood, due to the crushed pieces of wood that pierced her skin.

Holding onto the rope, clutching it for her life and closing her eyes, cradling her bleeding arm to her chest, Misty prayed as she was lifted by a tired Ash, worried out of his mind for her sake. She could feel her feet rising up from the floor and the walls closing faster than before. Her foot was inches away from being crushed.

She had made it...she thought, opening her eyes and embracing Ash in a one-armed hug.

"Thanks."

Misty could hear him sigh and pushed back to wonder about his distractedness. The rope's end hung lazily, as the rest of its body was crushed by the walls.

"I'm so sorry," Misty gasped, wincing as she tried to hug him.

"Myst, your arm's bleeding!"

She looked at him, shocked, pretending that she hadn't known. She surveyed the room and noticed it was quite big. The walls were adorned with beautiful pink and brown wallpaper. The floor was a beautiful beige color. In one side, one humongous king-sized bed with attractive pink sheets and brown pillows can be seen. There were various dolls sitting quietly on the walls shelves. There was also a huge door that had the words '_Closet_.' engraved in beautiful, solid gold. On the right was a door, equally in size as the other one, with white paint and a gold knob. Whoever owned this room was undoubtedly spoiled.

Ash caught her eye, looking around the room. Her eyes, mixed with a magnificent blue and enchanting green, was hazed. She was intently looking at the corner - where shelves of porcelain dolls hung while she winced from time to time, clutching her bleeding arm.

He had never seen her so beautiful.

"Pika..." a tired Pikachu whined, clutching his head dizzily. He jumped up in fighting stance, looking for Azurill and Misty.

"They're fine, Pikachu," Ash chuckled at the similar protectiveness of his Pokemon towards Azurill. "Misty's over -"

Ash abruptly stopped, his head turning once as he searched for his friend. His chocolate eyes stopped as a standing figure, holding a bleeding arm, was looking down at something.

Shrugging, Ash took his Pikachu and propped him in his shoulder.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu gasped, stopping Ash from taking any further movement. "Pikapipi."

Ash grinned and placed his Pikachu down in order to accompany the still-sleeping Azurill.

Walking towards Misty, by the far-end corner of the room, he touched her shoulder as she turned around, tears in her eyes.

"Myst, what's wrong?"

Wiping her tears, full of distress, Misty pointed. A picture, with the same girl in the locket. Marina. Only, the twin girl's side was burnt up, showing only a part of her arm. Next to the picture was a small, blue, plain diary. It even looked like it was ready to explode. There was a name on the diary, one Ash could surely see.

Arina.

"It's a bunch of old stuff, Myst. Why are you crying over them?"

She shook her head again, her tears gently falling on the brim of her nose.

"No," she spoke quietly. "Look at this."

She handed him a piece of brown paper, all crumpled and burnt on the sides. He cautiously opened it, sending a weary look in her direction. Inside the note wasn't any different from what you can see in any ordinary letter. But everything written in it was astonishing.

**_To my dear friends and their Pokemon, Ash and Misty._**

_You dared to enter the home,  
You dared to enter the room,  
And now I write you the poem,  
Which can lead to your impending doom._

Having your name written by some dead, spiritual girl was bad enough, but the poem made matters worse. Ash continued to read, gathering all the strength he can not to show his fear.

_From what I see,  
You're pretty interested in me,  
My past is nothing of worth you,  
And there's nothing you can do._

_There is no exit in the hollow,  
One you cannot find,  
It is me you have to follow,  
And all the clues that will bind._

**_Arina._**

A loud cackle filled the room, obviously not from a child. It sounded more of a woman, though. Misty squealed, clutching onto Ash's arm tighter. He was too busy racking a debate in his head to blush.

This handwriting was _not _of a child. It was confusing, really.

"A-Ash..." Misty said, her voice breaking in fear. Ash raised an eyebrow, wondering what could cause her to act like that. Once he turned to the direction of the bed, he was shocked - unable to move.

A slightly translucent figure clutched Pikachu and Azurill tightly to her chest. Looking down at the golden-framed picture in his hands, he could clearly said it was Marina.

The girl chuckled, sending both Ash and Misty aback.

"Trespassers."

"W-What?" Misty croaked, lowering herself behind Ash's back.

"Trespassers." Marina repeated.

A strong gust of wind filled the entire room, causing both humans to cower down and shut their eyes. Then, a rousing cackle filled the room once more - and then the wind stopped.

Pikachu, Azurill and Marina where nowhere to be found and Misty was about to break down.

Boy, were they in big trouble now.

**;;;;;;**

"Hey, Ash."

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

If Misty was to say she was going to jump on her head, Ash wouldn't be close to surprised compared to what she said. Misty had barely apologized - except for their little rendevous earlier - and she was never to admit that he was right, she was wrong. Ash started to become curious, wondering if she'd gone wild or he'd become delusional, but an apologizing Misty was very rare indeed.

"For?" he inquired, confused. He looked up, stopping himself from dabbing the white piece of cloth in her wound and stared at her eyes. A confusing, magnetic force seemed to bring them closer, their faces inches away from each other. In less than a second, Ash could feel her warm breath trickle his cheek. Closer...closer...closer they came. A few inches and their lips would touch...and Mew knows what'd happen.

For about a second, Ash realized that Misty had pulled away, her face flushed. As he opened his eyelids, she wasn't there any longer. Where had she gone?

"Ash..." her gentle voice aroused from the desk where they had previously been standing. He walked over to her side, feeling uneasiness from what was supposed to happen. Ash couldn't understand what made him want to kiss her - let alone feel remorse about not being able to kiss her. Did she even want to kiss him? Despite his immaturity and denseness towards romance and other mushy stuff she favored? He felt stupid. Why would she want to kiss him? She was well..._perfect_...

WAIT! No, no, no, no, no! He did _not_ just think that! Did he? Well, all the crazy happenings might have caught up to his brain. He couldn't understand what made him think something so repulsive. It felt so good inside, though.

Damn! There he was again!

"Hello? Earth to Ash? I've been calling on your spaceship for half an hour now!"

Ash scowled in her direction - much to her suspected shock - for some unknown reason. It wasn't her fault that he thought that - no. It was him and his stupid hormones, starting to act up. Why must it act up when _she's _here? Couldn't it have been his mom or something? Wait, that was worse. Was Misty the one who caused this...strange sensation of warmth building up inside of him? Was she the one who caused his dilemma?

Was she the one he'd been looking for?

"Ash! Ash! Ash!" Misty said, her voice rising over five octaves. Her loud, booming voice filled his ears and to some, it'd probably sound completely and utterly annoying, but to him - it sounded like something anyone would want to hear. No matter how loud or annoying her voice may sound.

"Ash. Mew, what the hell is going on in your head?" To tell the truth, she had been annoyed over the edge. He had been ignoring her for the past minute, his eyes dazed over the horizon. She couldn't understand what might be going on in his brain - considering he never really thought before he acted. That wasn't much of a compliment, but though it was the inevitable truth. Misty had never been one to be ignored - maybe except when she was younger and un-sensational - and she didn't like the concept of being completely ignored. It was sorta uncomfortable and she was never one to _like _silences. It bugged her out of her mind.

"What were you going to tell me?" Ash said, finally able to shake out of his previous musing.

She held out the blue, tattered diary and waved it in his face with a smirk. It was a very knowing smirk, indeed.

"Oh no, Myst. You know better than to read someone's diary."

"How'd you know, Ashy-boy," he twitched at the name. "Maybe **you **keep one?"

Dropping the irritating subject, Ash just grabbed the diary and it mysteriously opened. With his curiosity heightened and Misty's stubbornness showing, how could he manage to escape the mysteries hidden behind the family? Sure, he'd be ridden of guilt in the next few days - if he'd manage to escape - but that was nothing compared to a strange rope, somewhat pulling him to opening the diary. Maybe it was Misty, who was pleading and batting her lashes at him annoyingly? Most probably.

"Okay, fine. Let's open it."

* * *

**Clistare's Notes:** Again, I didn't edit the dialogue or the poem - even if I'm not very well trained in the latter. Reviews are recommended, flames are prohibited. Catch the drill?

_-Marie-_


	4. Chapter 4: The Main Clue?

**Author's Note: **Wondering why I took long? I do too. But my mind was blocked from any ideas for this story - writer's block overtook me. But anyways, this is the 4th chapter of Pranks. Things start revealing themselves on their own...

Disclaimer: Is not owning Pokemon. Just in her dreams.

* * *

Misty read with much grief and pity over the girl, who was very much hurt and lost. It turns out that Arina wasn't normal – nor extraordinarily pretty unlike her sister, Marina. She was born with an incurable disease that caused her to lose her right arm – which made her to wear a wooden arm in replace. Her face – like her twin's – could be described as pretty for a 9-year-old, but somehow, Misty knew there was something wrong about her smile… something missing. Arina's handwriting was legibly written in script, but it was still hard to read considering the paper was torn and brown.

Date: June 20th.

Event: Birthday Party!

Dear Diary,

Today's my birthday! I can hardly believe it! And it gets better, too. Mama and Papa are preparing a big, birthday bash wherein they'll invite all of Marina's friends. Yes, you heard correctly – Marina's. They still hadn't let me invite my friends – Papa hit me with a wooden stick yesterday – for not cleaning my room. But it's not my fault, honestly! Marina just went to my room and then we had a huge argument over the porcelain doll I got from Gran-Gran. She says she deserves it since she has an arm and then I blew insults at her. I feel so bad for doing so but she deserved it! If she insults me, she insults other people with the same disease! So you know what she did? She threw the doll under my bed. (I didn't even know things could fit under there!) I cried so badly since I thought it was broken. So I tossed all my second-hand toys at her. Papa came blowing in and called me a devil child. He whipped my back with a stick 5 times. It hurts a lot.

But luckily, when I went to clean my room (after Papa hit me,) I saw that the doll was still in tip-top shape! I was so happy. Although I found out Marina took out the arm before she threw it (She even said I look just like the doll now) I still find it as beautiful as before.  
Sometimes, I wonder if the world was just cruel - or if it was just me. From what I can remember, I'd never done anything wrong before. So why must my life be so miserable?

Misty couldn't read the rest, the pages were just blotchy and illegible. From the information she read, this was the very last entry in Arina's diary - and it was even bookmarked.

"Hey, Myst," Ash called over her shoulder, pointing to a red-like splatter that formed on the bottom of the page, "what's that?"

"I have no idea. But I know that it's gotta do something with what really happened. From what I read, this isn't Arina's fault. I feel terribly bad for her as of now, though."

"Don't worry," Ash gave a smile, "we'll figure this out. I promise."

He held out a hand to emphasize his point, and Misty locked hers with his. For a moment, they kept it locked, their faces inching closer without them knowing. They were barely inches away when Ash brushed an orange lock of hair out of Misty's face. Just as their lips were about to brush together for the first time, a scream could be heard throughout the whole mansion.

"What was that?!" Misty jumped, surprised.

"I don't know. But I think it's coming from the other side!"

Quickly, both of them dashed out the door and found an endless hall filled with doors. The long trail was pitch black, and neither of them could see anything but a circular light at the end. It was buzzing, too. Ash stepped out first and took Misty's hand, her fear washing away. Together, they passed the first door and out of curiosity, Misty opened it with her free hand.

What she saw was truly terrifying. It was a boy without a head, drinking tea. Misty screamed and threw herself upon Ash's chest, ignoring his bewildered look. As fast as he could, Ash shut the door without making any noise - just to make sure the headless boy wouldn't hear him.

"I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home." Misty mumbled over and over again, despite her shaking. Ash clutched tighter to her vest and buried her closer to his chest,

"Don't worry Misty, I'm here." the seriousness in his tone meant he wasn't joking, too.

"Thanks, Ash," she said, wiping her stray tears, "that means a lot."

She got out of her position and carefully examined the doors, still a bit shaken from the recent encounter. "So I get it...the different doors contain different people. Maybe if we find the right one to where the person screamed, it could lead us closer! Remember what Arina said? All the clues that bind? All we need to do now is find those clues and we can solve this!"

Without any warning, Misty grabbed Ash's hand forcefully and carefully walked the pitch-black hall.

|*|*|*|

"Ow! Ash, you stepped on my foot!"

"Sorry. Don't blame me! You were the one who got us lost."

"Hey, I can't see a thing here, how was I supposed to know where to go?"

"Well if you listened to me - "

"Blah. Blah. Blah."

Ash rolled his eyes in aggravation. Misty still acted like a 5-year-old; she loved to annoy Ash to his internal wits. Both of them had been trudging their feet to what may seem like an endless hall of doors, each door containing a different kind of ghoul or ghost. Misty didn't dare to open _any_ of the doors, and when Ash reached for the knob, she would punch him on the shoulder and scream in his face. So here they are, walking silently through the hallway which seemed to have no ending.

"Gross!" Ash heard Misty making sounds, pretending to vomit, "what the hell is that?"

Ash bent down despite the darkness and overlooked the matter of danger. Misty lifted her foot, as instructed by Ash, and tried to stretch the gooey substance, to free herself from it. Given that his curiosity was piqued, Ash gave in and picked the thing from under Misty's foot and gave it a smell. He almost choked it out.

"What in the world is this?!" he wrinkled his forehead irritably. He really wished Pikachu or Charizard were here, just so that they could light up the way. Misty shoved something onto his side and stepped back.

"Hmm...?"

"It's a ziploc bag," Misty said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "you can put it inside. Maybe when we finally find a lighted area, we could see what it is."  
Taking her advice, Ash grabbed a handful of the gooey stuff and inserted it in the bag Misty had handed him. Without any doubt, he placed it carefully in his pocket and scrunched his nose up.

"Well, let's keep going. We're not done here." Misty marched, but instantly, her face met with a mahogany door.

"OUCH!" she said, wiping her nose. Ash knew this meant one thing...they were in the end! He ran towards the sound of her voice and found her about to punch the door with all she had. Ash restrained her, pulling her away and reassuring Misty. He knew that it wasn't a good idea if Misty broke down the century-old door. Who knows what secret door they'd open again?

Ash gave a wide grin. He opened the knob and came face to face with something quite interesting...  
Misty arrived by his side and gave a loud gasp. It was a garden, everything drenched of life. What was quite unusual is the boned Rapidash, which carried a carriage that contained two human skeletons. One with a gown, one with a dress shirt and jeans.

Stepping out of the hallway, Misty placed her hands on her hips and sighed. This really wasn't doing good for her personality. All she saw in this house were dead things. If she wanted a personality improvement, how in the world will she find it here?

Despite the fact that they were surrounded by skeletal beings, some randomly floating in air, Ash's face lit up brightly. Misty knew that Ash was a strange kid since they were ten, but she never expected him to be so jovial in a place like this.

"The light here is perfect!" he said, poignantly. As fast as he could, Ash snatched the ziploc bag from his pocket and searched for the substance they had attained just a few minutes ago. For some unexplainable reason, Ash couldn't identify the material. When placed directly to the light, it would evidently change to red. But when a shadow overcast it, you wouldn't be able to decipher anything.

"So, have you found any leads yet...?" Misty glimpsed his way, hopeful enough to wish that he had found anything. Resolving to tell her the truth rather than lie, Ash nodded his head solemnly and sat on the dehydrated land. Misty followed suit and heaved a big sigh.

"So far...we have absolutely nothing. No leads, no clues...no Pikachu or Azurill..."

"I know. It's almost sundown, too."

It was then Misty noticed the rays of the sun, brightly shining in different hues of yellow and orange. They peeped from behind the tree, as if it were a child about to take a nap. Misty gave a quick glance at her watch for the first time that day and noticed the rather cold atmosphere draining on them.

"Maybe...maybe we should look for a way out."

This stopped Misty from suggesting what was on her mind. "...What?"

"Think about it Misty," Ash explained with annoyance, "we've been at it for hours! Searching and searching for clues not even finding anything useful! All we have is a stupid diary that has almost all the pages ripped out and - "

"Wait, the pages are ripped...?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll show you..."

In a swift motion, Ash took out the diary that was previously sitting on Misty's bag he was carrying. The little blue book's lock shimmered under the sunset, their eyes bore into the glittery lock. Misty accepted the diary and flipped through the last bookmarked page. There seemed to be a continuation; she wouldn't know, Misty halted herself from reading the rest of the gruesome details.

"It says here on the last words of the page...'Marina invited me by the poolside where the party's being held. I knew exactly what her intentions were, to...' then it stops there. Ash! You're a genius! This was the main clue all along!" Misty said excitedly. She grabbed her knapsack and shuffled through its remains. A canteen full of water, the cloth Ash used to clean her wound and luckily, one Pokeball Misty hadn't noticed before.

"I don't recall bringing a Pokemon...Go, Pokeball!"

The red light flashed, causing them to cower with their arm. It seemed brighter than usual - which was definitely not a good sign. But when Ash and Misty looked around for a useful Pokemon, there was nothing. Empty.

But the sound of a Rapidash's hooves colliding with the ground filled their ears. Immediately, both stood up and surveyed the boned-Rapidash, its flames firing up. The skeletons were stretching their bones and looked at Ash and Misty with their heads turned.

"Misty..." Ash whispered, taking a step back. Misty followed his suit and yelped.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I think now's a good time...to run!"

Misty picked up her bag, containing the diary and dashed off alongside Ash. Their decision had been smart, as the Rapidash galloped after them. Ash could perceive a door, about 10 feet away, and sprinted off with Misty's arm in his hand - hopeful to get away from the deranged Rapidash that was chasing them.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I apologize for not updating quickly. It's freezing and my fingers feel so numb. But...well, anyways, I just did my last minute Christmas shopping. Boy, was it hard! Anyways, thanks for those who reviewed. I appreciate it.

Oh and Note: This is far from done. Although Ash and Misty might have found the 'main clue' there are still many questions in our heads.

Where are Azurill and Pikachu? Who really murdered Marina? Was Arina the cause of all this trouble?

_Find out. :D_

**Please review!**


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